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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

I promised you the story of how this quilt came to be, so here it is. This was the largest quilt I've ever made (130cm x 190cm) and also my first man-quilt.V-am promis povestea facerii acestui quilt, deci iat-o. Asta a fost cel mai mare quilt pe care l-am facut pana acum (130x190), precum si primul quilt de barbati.

I had the idea in a flash of genius: hey, I could stencil those little dancing people he likes so much on some fabric, then turn the fabric into a quilt! His favourite colour combination being green and black, I went to search for some green fabric. The one below was the only green I could find that was cotton, and large enough. I wasn't crazy about the shade, but I figured it might look different once it was covered in LDPs (= little dancing people).Ideea mi-a venit intr-o strafulgerare de geniu: hei, as putea picta omuletii aia care-i plac asa de mult pe un material, iar apoi sa fac un quilt din material! Combinatia lui preferata fiind verde cu negru, am plecat in cautare de verde. Singurul verde pe care l-am gasit si care sa fie si bumbac si destul de mare a fost cel de mai jos. Nu ma omoram dupa nuanta, darm-am gandit ca va arata altfel odata ce va fi acoperit cu ODi (omuleti dansand).

I had a forest green fabric paint which looked quite nice, and I made stencils out of a plastic cover from one of my uni folders (what, it was all I had on hand at the time). And I started painting.Aveam o vopsea pt textile de un verde-brad care arata bine; am facut sabloane din coperta de plastic a unui dosar pe care-l folosesc la scoala (ce, aia aveam la indemana!). Si m-am apucat de pictat.

1270 done, 2348 to go....1270 gata, mai am 2348...

To be fair, I estimate about 5 LDPs per block, so that would mean I stencilled approximately 250 of them.Pentru corectitudine, am estimat cam 5 ODi per bloc, deci asta ar insemna ca am pictat cam 250 in total.

As we all know, Murphy never sleeps! I soon ran out of fabric paint. I ran to the store to get some more, but it was that exact shade that they had run out of. I decided to take the next closest shade. I mean, it was just one number down, how different could it be? This different!Dupa cum stim, Murphy nu doarme niciodata! Mi s-a terminat repede vopseaua pt textile. Am fugit la magazin sa mai iau dar exact nuanta aia n-o mai aveau. Am luat nuanta cea mai apropiata. In fond, era diferenta de doar un numar, cate de diferita putea sa fie? Asa de diferita!

I mixed it with white and yellow and brown and light green and blue and purple in an attempt to get it closer to the original shade, but what I ended up with was a sort of rancid furry mold colour. Oh well, I went on with it, waiting to see what it would look like when cut into blocks. I ended up with blocks that had both shades, and some blocks that had only one of the shades:Am amestecat-o cu alb si galben su maro si verde deschis si albastru si mov in incercarea de a o aduce mai aproape de nuanta originala, dar am ajuns la o culoare de mucegai blanos ranced. Ma rog, am mers mai departe, hotarata sa vad cum va arata odata ce mterialul va fi taiat in blocuri. Mi-au iesit blocuri cu ambele nuante, si blocuri care aveau doar una din nuante:

Not sure what to do, I left it aside and went to look for fabric for the other presents.Nu stiam ce sa fac, asa ca l-am pus deoparte si am plecat sa caut materiale pentru celelalte cadouri.

And what do I find? A huge, oh-so-soft sheet in the perfect shade of green! I'm sure Murphy was snickering down at me while I was standing in the shop, wandering if I should laugh, swear or just buy the damn sheet. I bought it.Si ce gasesc? Un cearsaf mare, super-moale, in nuanta perfecta de verde! Cred ca Murphy se prapadea de ras in timp ce eu stateam in magazin, intrebandu-ma daca sa rad, sa injur sau sa cumpar naibii materialul. L-am cumparat.

Being such a large quilt. I had nowhere to stretch it out in my house. So off I went to take over the landlady's porch: (don't worry, I swept and mopped it 3 times before laying out the quilt)Fiind un quilt asa de mare, n-aveam unde sa-l intind in casa. Asa ca am ocupat terasa gazdei: (fiti fara grija, am maturat si am mopuit de 3 ori inainte sa-l intind)

Sandwich, pin, quilt, border and the quilt was done in the nick of time.Straturi, ace de siguranta, quiltuit, margine, si quiltul a fost gata la tzanc.

End results:

a much improved night's sleep

lots of leftover rancid mold coloured paint

lots of ugly LDP quilt blocks I don't know what to do with. Any suggestions?

Monday, July 25, 2011

As I've been discovering more and more crafty awesomeness in the blog world of late, I have decided to revive the Monday of envy.De vreme ce in ultima vreme tot descopar minunatii in lumea blogurilor, m-am decis sa reinviu lunea invidiei.

A little-dancing-people quilt. This is actually the second one I made, as I hated the first version. I will give you the entire saga in a future post.Un quilt cu omuleti dansand. Asta e de fapt al doilea quilt facut, nu mi-a placut deloc prima versiune. O sa va povestesc toata saga intr-un post viitor.

A little-dancing-people cup. This was funny. I handed it to him casually to drink from, he uses it just as casually and, about an hour later, goes "wow, check out that awesome cup! Where did that come from!?" Duh! Talk about a man's spirit of observation!

A little-dancing-people scarf:Un fular/ esarfacu omuleti dansand:...as well as other things which (miraculously!) did not have any dancing people on them....precum si alte chestii care (in mod miraculos!) n-au omuleti dansand pe ele.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Last month I caught up with an old friend from highschool, come to spend a holiday in Romania, together with her English husband and in-laws. And it was a lovely holiday, except for the car crash they had on the very last day. They were not very seriously injured, but the accident kept everyone in the country longer than previously planned.

Which gave me the chance to spend more time with Maureen, who is a quilter! Can you imagine that? A real, flesh-and-blood quilter, who owns sewing machines and buys fabrics, organises tea parties and is part of several (several!) quilting and embroidery clubs. Such a character might sound like a myth to someone living in a country with no fabric shops and no "quilt" in the dictionary. But mark my words, my crafty Romanian sisters, they do exist!Ceea ce mi-a dat ocazia sa petrec mai mult timp cu Maureen, care face quilturi! Puteti sa va imaginati asa ceva? O persoana in carne si oase, care are masini de cusut si cumpara materiale si organizeaza serate englezeti si face marte din mai multe (mai multe) cluburi de quilt si broderie. Asa ceva ar putea parea un mit celor ce locuiesc intr-o tara fara magazine de materiale si fara cuvantul "quilt" in dictionar. Dar luati aminte la vorbele mele, exista!She was kind enough to spend an afternoon at my place, and we talked and talked. I actually used words like "mitre" and "bias binding" and "applique", words which I knew but had never uttered in my life, for lack of anyone who would understand them.

Talking to her for a few hours was a sensory overload that only reading 5 new craft magazines at the same time could give you.Vorbind cu ea cateva ore m-am simtit de parca as fi citit 5 reviste de craft noi, toate in acelasi timp.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

It all started with pyjamas. I needed some. I found these and instantly loved the design and colour.Totul a inceput cu pijamaua. Imi trebuia una. Am gasit-o pe asta si mi-a placut imediat modelul si culoarea.

Revelation 1: Hey, this fabric is way too nice to only be worn in the dark. Is there a way to turn this into something wearable outdoors too?Revelatia 1: Hei, materialul asta e prea fain ca sa fie purtat numai pe intuneric. Oare exista vreo cale de a transforma pijamaua asta in ceva purtabil si afara?

It turns out there was, and this lead the way to my first ever refashion: the PJ dress!Se pare ca a existat, si asta a condus la prima mea transformare vestimentara: rochia pijama!

I chopped the pants up and re-assembled them into skirt panels, shortened the top, added some lace and satin here and there, as well as a tulle underskirt and I was quite pleased with the result!Am taiat pantalonii si i-am reasamblat in segmente de fusta, am scurtat maioul, am adaugat niste dantela si satin pe ici pe colo, precum si un jupon de tulle, si am fost foarte satisfacuta de rezultat!

I saw my shopping horizons instantly broadened: now I could buy things that didn't quite fit, simply because I loved the fabric. I could always turn the item into something else. So I got onto my second ever refashion. I had had this shirt for a while, thinking I would use the fabric for a quilt or doll dress. It was blah: bulky, uncomfortable and not very flattering, with the hippie pointed collar and all: